Saturday, 25 February 2012

The ‘It’s All The Fault Of The Government!’ Generation

I'm 24, a bit of a geek, spend a bit too much time online, and in front of the Xbox. But mostly I look for work, like an ever-increasing proportion of everyone I knew from school, college and university.

Well, good for you! And good luck with it, I really mean that. Clearly, you'll need it.

Like most graduates, I'm in vast amounts of debt. I owe £18,000 (and rising) to the Student Loans Company, £3,000 to Halifax and £750 to HSBC. Despite this, I don't regret my degree course for a second (I have a BSc in genetics from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth).

So, what does vex you so much you've written a column for the 'Guardian', then?

No, my demons reside at the jobcentre.

Ah. I see where we're going now...

The Jobcentre has done nothing but hinder me in my search. When I was asked what qualifications I had, and I told them about my degree, Btecs, A-levels, AS-levels and GCSEs, they responded with "Are you sure? Have you got certificates to prove that?"

Well, yes. How strange. Why can't they just take your word for it, right? No-one else would expect to have to...

To be patronised and looked down on didn't faze me, but what did was the suggestion by a personal adviser that I take my degree off my CV, saying it might be scaring employers.

Which is good advice, and might actually help you. Isn't that what you want?

Things degenerated when another adviser referred me to the "flexible new deal" programme. They made me attend a course at Pertemps People Development Group. This was a few rooms of rented-out office space with a projector, whiteboard and a few computers. My assignment was to complete a large black folder's worth of worksheets, with topics like "verbal and non-verbal communication" which was more or less sit up and smile, and interview techniques with innovative methods such as not swearing and wearing a shirt and tie.

That's not a problem with the system itself. There are, indeed, people who need help with that sort of thing, it's just that you've been mistakenly assumed to be one of them.

After this my adviser decided that work experience was all that mattered. This was despite the fact that I already had work experience. As a student I was a "team member" at McDonald's, "customer assistant" at Morrisons and even briefly worked for an online retailer, managing their website. This was all on my CV.

Again, not a fault of the system itself, but of the idiocy of the guy handling your case.

Why then did the "adviser" refer me to the mandatory work activity that is designed for young people who require "discipline" as they have "never had a job".

I don't know. Did you ask him?

I keep hearing claims that this scheme is voluntary. But I've got a form that uses the phrase "you must" three times, the phrase "you will" once and the word "mandatory" five times. I can't seem to find the word "voluntary".

Again, did you ask anyone to clarify? Isn't that what scientists do, they question seemingly contradictory data until they get an answer?

Right now, I think I'D like to check out your credentials too!

I was asked the other day by a friend, "Isn't this fair, though? I have to get up really early and slog away all day, why shouldn't you?" What he meant was, "I am made to suffer hardship. I want to see you suffer too." This is the start of bullying.

No. No, it's really not. No more than the Workfare programme is 'slavery'. You don't help your case with such overdramatisation.

The government is bullying the unemployed, and is inciting hate towards us. It's not my fault that there are no jobs. It's not my fault others have to work long hours for very little pay. It's the government's fault.

You should look to it for answers, instead of demanding them from us, the scapegoats. Ask why it signs off on its staff avoiding taxes, or on paying bankers huge salaries (and bonuses) of taxpayers' money.

Oh, wow! Wow...

I really hope you aren't using your real name, because if I were running an employment agency or a big HR recruitment company, your name would get noticed, all right. And not for a good reason...

I suspect, for my generation, there is no future. We were supposed to be the next set of great thinkers. What do you think we think about now? How to stay out of poverty. How to avoid being made a slave.

You're no slave. But you are a whiny little manchild who thinks the world should bow down before your greatness. Nothing wrong with that, we all feel that way when we're young. Usually, we grow out of it.

16 comments:

Well yes, fair enough, but don't the politicians wander round telling everybody that they can fix everything for everyone, down to regulating what and how much you eat, drink or smoke?

So you can see how the misunderstanding might have arisen. If the pol's were honest and said "The economy is f-ed, we have no idea how to fix it. But we don't want there to be mass social unrest so we'll chuck a bit of money at the unemployed so that they don't starve, if they can find a job, good luck to them but if not we'll neither promise them "work experience" nor force them to take it"?

Whilst I would endorse nearly everything you say, one of your comments stood out, sore thumb like :-

"I don't know. Did you ask him?"

which was soon followed with :-

"Again, did you ask anyone to clarify?"

which, whilst being eminently sensible, don't quite match the "flavour" of the interaction with ones "advisor" these days.

It tends to be much more "I can spend 5 minutes with you, I've mapped out what is going to happen next, so shut up, and listen ..."

Although to be fair to you, you did also include the comment :-

"Again, not a fault of the system itself, but of the idiocy of the guy handling your case."

Well maybe 50/50 - yes you can get an idiot or you can get someone who isn't an idiot, and maybe actually even cares a bit. But as they are having to deal with "targets and top down (and sometimes passed on by 'word of mouth' - because we don't want some things committed to print, and we want to be able to deny that certain 'policies' are being operated ..) direction on "how to treat people", so if they do actually spend time listening to you, it eats into the time they have to rtell you what you must do before seeing their next client, and could create an environment where they find it difficult to get you "on board with the plan for you", and of course, if you do try and insist on making your point, say as in 'I don't need that sort of experience, I was working for 30 years before my job disappeared, I know what the 'work habit/ethic is ..." you do risk getting a "difficult/very difficult customer" label on your file.

The theory is fine, the implementation not so fine, and bullying doesn't have to be overt to actually be bullying, so I would view the term "voluntary" which is being bandied about with abandon as meaning slightly less than it implies ...

He sounds like an alright lad but instead of whinging to the student rag should perhaps learn a healthy contempt for most public servants.

I got on the bus the other day at 12.30 and the guy who got on with me could hardly walk he was so mullered. He subsequently answered his phone and slurred that he was off to the job centre so I guess advisors have their beefs too. This seems like a decent enough lad who's the low hanging fruit to box off the stats - anyone who works at Maccy D's for a bit gets an interview.

Agreed that job centres are crap, and worse that the ones who 'interview' those who come into their offices frequently act in a superior way because, hey, they have a job already and the applicants don't.

So, sympathy there, but the line: "The government is bullying the unemployed, and is inciting hate towards us" is laughable.

It aids the government to have everybody working and paying taxes without having to pay out benefits, so I am not sure how bullying comes in. I may think this government is piss poor (and almost as bad as Liebore were in their 13 disastrous years in power) but they would prefer everyone to be working. Of course they have no clue how to go about it, but that's hardly bullying.

However the author really gets my ire when he writes that the government is inciting hatred towards the unemployed. How exactly do they do that? Other than than as a noble, look-at-me-I'm-an-angry-leftwinger statement, it really isn't true. Yes, people are angry at the wasters who use any excuse to avoid work and demand huge benefits, but most of us have a genuine sympathy for those who want to work but haven't had a break yet.

Oh, and by the way sunshine, saying you spend all your time online and with the Xbox doesn't garner much sympathy. I really, really don't care that you play mindless games all day long but I don't want to know about it.

Surely those bright, switched-on students don't believe a word the government says..? ;)

"But as they are having to deal with "targets and top down (and sometimes passed on by 'word of mouth' - because we don't want some things committed to print, and we want to be able to deny that certain 'policies' are being operated ..) direction on "how to treat people"..."

Oh, I've no doubt it's as shambolically run as most other government services.

But note that, when this is brought up in comments, the author's quick to claim he doesn't blame the poor, harassed public servants! For a newcomer to CiF he sure has all the ground rules down pat.

"24 and already he's learning what government is really like. Morons with power bossing us around."

Indeed!

"...but instead of whinging to the student rag should perhaps learn a healthy contempt for most public servants. "

Should have done a degree in Womyns Studies or Marxism and he could have got a job in 'diversity'. Silly boy.

Being in the bracket of 'lower middle class' who will be looking for a new job very soon, i am equally unoptomistic. I can rail against the inequities of corporate greed who look at us as slightly expensive slaves and i can rail against those who have decided to give a massive two fingered salute to the world aiming for a life of benefits, paid on the condition they don't become too rebellious and threaten the economic status quo.

We all have frustrations and if this guy wants to bleat then let him. Welcome to the real world my friend!!